Abstract: An optical disc includes a processed area that has been processed by the irradiation of a YAG laser. Concave pits and convex pits having a length 3T-14T (T=0.133 ?m) are formed in an area of the optical disc other than the processed area. The processed area includes (1) a concave pit having a length X or (2) a pit string that has a length X and includes a convex pit from which a reflection layer has been removed. A specific area of the optical disc records physical character information that shows the location and length of the concave pit or the pit string in the processed area.

Abstract: An optical disc includes a processed area that has been processed by the irradiation of a YAG laser. Concave pits and convex pits having a length 3T-14T (T=0.133 ?m) are formed in an area of the optical disc other than the processed area. The processed area includes (1) a concave pit having a length X or (2) a pit string that has a length X and includes a convex pit from which a reflection layer has been removed. A specific area of the optical disc records physical character information that shows the location and length of the concave pit or the pit string in the processed area.

Abstract: An optical disk is provided for recording data of a signal modulated according to a predetermined modulation method in a form of concavo-convex pits. The optical disk includes a first area having a reflecting film partly removed, and a second area for recording pits which are different from pits satisfying requirements of the predetermined modulation method. The first area having the reflecting film partly removed includes a portion which is formed by removing the reflecting film, and has a length longer than a maximum pit length determined by the modulation method in a circumferential direction of the optical disk. When the pits recorded on the optical disk are physically copied as they are, physical copying of the optical disk can be prevented by utilizing such a difference that the authorized optical disk differs from a pirated copy in a combination of the respective reproduced signals of the first and second areas.

Abstract: An optical disk is provided for recording data of a signal modulated according to a predetermined modulation method in a form of concavo-convex pits. The optical disk includes a first area having a reflecting film partly removed, and a second area for recording pits which are different from pits satisfying requirements of the predetermined modulation method. The first area having the reflecting film partly removed includes a portion which is formed by removing the reflecting film, and has a length longer than a maximum pit length determined by the modulation method in a circumferential direction of the optical disk. When the pits recorded on the optical disk are physically copied as they are, physical copying of the optical disk can be prevented by utilizing such a difference that the authorized optical disk differs from a pirated copy in a combination of the respective reproduced signals of the first and second areas.

Abstract: A method for making reduced iron using blast-furnace sludge is provided. The method includes a mixing step of mixing the blast-furnace sludge and an iron-oxide-containing powder to prepare a mixed material, an agglomerating step of agglomerating the mixed material to form agglomerates, a feeding step of feeding the agglomerates onto a continuously moving hearth, and a reducing step of heating the agglomerates to remove zinc and reduce the agglomerates.

Abstract: An information recording medium includes a plurality of sectors each of which has a sector header area storing a unique sector number and a data storage area for storing user data. User data to be recorded onto the information recording medium is scrambled using a data scramble key generated from a unique medium identifier of the information recording medium and a sector number of a sector into which the user data is to be recorded. The medium identifier used here has been scrambled using a medium identifier scramble key generated from predetermined data and a sector number of a sector into which the medium identifier is to be stored, and stored in that sector. In so doing, security is ensured not only for each individual information recording medium but also for each individual sector, with it being possible to protect data recorded on the information recording medium against unauthorized reproduction.

Abstract: A plurality of tracks on an optical disk are optically read to obtain a signal containing a plurality of LOW segments. Each of the plurality of LOW segments should correspond to a certification pit. Accordingly, if the interval between LOW segment Xj and nth succeeding LOW segment Xj+n exceeds the length of one track, a defect pit that could be confused with a certification pit is judged as being present between two certification pits.

Abstract: An optical disc includes a processed area that has been processed by the irradiation of a YAG laser. Concave pits and convex pits having a length 3T-14T (T=0.133 &mgr;m) are formed in an area of the optical disc other than the processed area. The processed area includes (1) a concave pit having a length X or (2) a pit string that has a length X and includes a convex pit from which a reflection layer has been removed. A specific area of the optical disc records physical character information that shows the location and length of the concave pit or the pit string in the processed area.

Abstract: A process for producing fired pellets by granulating finely-ground iron ore and subjecting the resulting granules sequentially to drying, dehydration, preheating, and firing, wherein said process comprises adding an additive to said finely-ground iron ore at the time of granulation, said additive reacting with iron ore to form a compound which has a melting point lower than the preheating temperature. Owing to the additive (or sintering auxiliary) added in a small amount to iron ore powder, it is possible to produce preheated pellets by using the existing grate kiln without increasing the amount of preheating energy. The resulting preheated pellets have improved strength and produce no adverse effect on finished pellets.

Abstract: Panty hose sewing processes can be fully automatized (allowing unattended operation) by providing a processing apparatus which is enabled to perform working steps from the pickup of hose material to the opening of the welt portion by using suction air flow synchronously and iteratively under phase differences in working position for the respective working steps, and which allows one piece of hose material to be taken out at a time with reliability, and yet which fully opens the welt portion onto the slide pipe in an unfolding manner and delivers the welt portion to a fitting arm with reliability.

Abstract: A damper for a loudspeaker has an improved linearity of the amount of strain caused by the vibrational energy to vibrational energy exerted on the damper to enable the loudspeaker to reproduce sounds in a high fidelity. The damper is formed such that the modulus of elasticity with respect to a direction perpendicular to the surface of the damper is uniform on a circle with its center at the center of the damper, and portions respectively on concentric circles with their centers at the center of the damper are different in modulus of elasticity with respect to a direction perpendicular to the surface of the damper from each other.